Châteauneuf du Pape Les Vieilles Vignes 2021 Domaine de Villeneuve

Domaine de Villeneuve's Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Vieilles Vignes is the cuvée that most fully embodies Stanislas Wallut's vision: a Châteauneuf that does not seek power as an end, but as a natural consequence of obsessively careful work in the vineyard. The domaine's 8.4 hectares, all in the appellation's northern sector, comprise three plots of old vines between 40 and over 100 years old, trained in gobelet according to the oldest Provençal tradition. These are vines that have stopped seeking water on the surface: their roots plunge deep into the clay-sandy soils and the galets roulés, pebbles rolled down from the Loire that accumulate heat during the day and release it at night, giving the Grenache the maturity that enhances its complexity without making it heavy.

The result is a red of extraordinary elegance, capable of a purity and complexity that bring it close to the best wines of the appellation, while maintaining a rare drinkability for a Châteauneuf of this structure.